Believe it or not, airport parking has become a business in itself. It’s cost can rival the cost of your actual flight if you turn up at the airport and pay the asking price.
Just as an example, if you leave your car at Heathrow airport for 48 hours you will be charged a whopping £93.80.
Alternatively, by booking your parking online you can park for 7 days for as little as £50.
Short stay parking
If you’re travelling to the airport to drop someone off or pick someone up and you only want to park for a couple of hours or less then you’re best off using the airports short stay car park.
Although these car parks are very expensive there isn’t usually any competition and they are usually very convenient.
Long stay parking
If you’ve made the decision to drive to the airport and leave your car there then you would have to be mad or rich to not book your parking in advance.
Most major airports in the UK have allowed third party businesses to take over their long stay parking meaning you can take advantage of their competitive prices.
You must book in advance
to get the lower prices, even if this means ringing up and booking on the drive to the airport.
Of course the earlier you book the more money you will save.
The bigger the airport the more companies you will find offering parking and more competition means lower prices.
Check out some of these websites to find cheaper parking at UK airports:
Airport Parking: things to consider
When booking airport parking remember to consider and ask about the following when looking at prices :
- On-site or Off-site: On-site parking means you’ll be a lot closer to the terminal, where you ultimately want to end up. Off-site parking may mean a reasonably lengthy transfer to the terminal with your luggage. See transfers below.
- Meet and greet: Meet and greet service is essentially valet parking. You will of course pay a premium for this but it allows you to drive directly to the terminal you want to be and someone will take your car away, park it and bring it back upon your return. It should be noted that meet and greet is not always available but you can check this in advance.
- Transfers: If you choose Off-site parking and you don’t pay for meet and greet then you should check how easy it is to get from the car park to the terminal. A transfer should be available but check the frequency of the transfers and the length of time taken for the transfer.
Local car parks
Some UK car parks have local car parks not affiliated with the airport that may be cheaper than using either on-site or off-site car parks affiliated with the airport.
However, these local car parks may not have transfer facilities to the terminal so be sure you know how you’re getting there.
